Black Hills Ghost Stories: Campfire Tales from Deadwood and Beyond
    7 Original Short Ghost Stories

From the Campfire — A Note from Pete

Hi, I’m Pete, a retired newspaper reporter from Deadwood, South Dakota. I’ve seen a lot over the years, but nothing sticks with me quite like the ghost stories that float through the Black Hills.

My good friend, retired Deputy Sheriff Mild Bill Hickok—yes, a descendant of that Wild Bill Hickok, has a knack for finding the strange and unsettling. Together, we’ve walked where the past doesn’t stay buried, where the wind doesn’t just whisper… it warns.

These are some of the stories the tourists don’t always hear. Tales of cursed gold, haunted mines, ghost riders, and ancient spirits.

Every once in a while, something crawls out of the Black Hills looking for attention.

So settle in, keep the fire, and don’t be surprised if you find yourself looking over your shoulder before the night’s through.

The Rickshaw Man
Some ghosts ride. Others push.

When a set of old bricks is torn up on a Deadwood back street, a long-buried secret is unearthed — and it brings more than dust to the surface. An eerie rickshaw appears in the dead of night, pushed by a mad and angry figure who doesn’t seem to know he’s dead… or maybe he does.

Pete and Mild Bill follow the trail of a hunter, faded photos, and broken bones to uncover the story of a Chinese immigrant wronged by history — and a ghost who’s finally had enough of being ignored.

He’s pushing something, and it isn’t just a rickshaw.

Am I to Live Forever
Buried in gold. Starved by greed. Haunted ever since.

When scientists open a cavern beneath the old Homestake Mine, they’re dealing with air pressure problems — not voices begging for help. But the gold-veined chamber they uncover isn’t just rich in ore… it’s a tomb.

Pete and Mild Bill watch as a spelunker’s camera reveals skeletal remains, a tattered journal, and confessions of madness, murder, and something worse. The dead may be gone, but the story they left behind still echoes through the mine — and into the minds of those who hear it.

“I hear you, Tom. I’m going to catch you, Tom. Where are you hiding, Tom?”

The Screecher of the Badlands
Some ghosts whisper. This one screams.

Deep in the fossil-scarred hills of the Badlands, an old ghost story speaks of a glowing woman who lures travelers off the trail — and into their graves. Pete sets out to investigate the legend of “Watch Dog Butte” with nothing but blacklights, drone cameras, and an overpacked survival kit.
What he finds isn’t a woman. And whatever it is, it’s out feeding.

With Mild Bill at his side and phosphorescent shadows on their heels, they return to face the ancient predator that haunts the Badlands — and learn why some places are best left in the dark.
If you hear the screech, it might be too late.

Dent Dremmer Rides Alone
He rides forever.

Every summer, the roar of motorcycles fills the Black Hills — but not every rider makes it home. When Pete and Mild Bill investigate reports of a silent man on an old bike guiding lost souls off deadly roads, they uncover the long-rumored story of Dent Dremmer, a loner whose stuck in a pattern of leading riders to their death.

They say if you see him you’ve probably already crossed the line.

Rackson’s Cursed Gold

Gold doesn’t forget. And it doesn’t forgive.

When a string of violent deaths follows the discovery of bloodstained gold coins in Deadwood, Pete and retired deputy Mild Bill Hickok discover the return of an old legend, the curse of Alfred Rackson.

The coins vanish. The bodies pile up. And a woman named Millie Drake begins to unravel, tormented by visions of murder and betrayal tied to her family’s darkest secret.

As past and present collide, Pete and Bill must help Millie end a curse that’s passed down through generations — before the gold claims another soul. Some treasures are better left buried.

The Phantom Spring of Buffalo Gap

Some ghosts haunt you with silence. Others, with water.

Pete and Mild bill stumbled across a hidden spring that shouldn’t have been there — clear, cool, and deadly revealing. But it wasn’t just the water that shimmered. A woman stood beside it, barefoot and waiting.

As the story unspools, Pete uncovers a story of betrayal, loss, and a ghost who was hiding in plain site all along.

Special Edweina and Electrified Earl

They’re loud, they’re in love, and they’re hard of hearing.

Hill City isn’t haunted in the traditional sense. It’s haunted in stereo.

Meet Edweina — fiery, temperamental, and sick of being called “Special Ed.” And Earl — a jittery spirit with too much energy and he’s the one making all the rocking chairs move. Together, they bicker, bluster, and rattle bars and hotels all over town.

When Pete and Mild Bill investigate the latest ghostly ruckus at a local saloon, they find themselves caught between moans, misunderstandings, and a ghostly couple who can’t hear a thing — not even each other. This isn’t your average haunting. It’s a haunted comedy of errors.